Psyked*

it’s easy once you know how.

Missapplication of Terminology

Posted by James - 30/08/07 at 11:08:40 pm

or, When is your CMS not a CMS?

Computer-orientated terminology tends to get thrown around like buzzwords, it seems. Not only by people who don’t really know what they’re talking about - but also by those that should. And, like buzzwords, they convey an idea - not a technical specification. If you haven’t heard of a CMS or a CDP however, you might be left in the dark.

but Buzzwords are cool - they’re easy and indeterminate.

Sure, saying ‘CMS’ or ‘Content Management System’ is easier than describing what you mean all the time - but suppose both parties have completely different ideas of what to expect from a ‘Content Management System’. After all, what does your ‘Content Management System’ do? Does it manage your content for you - or help you manage your content? Does it even do that? Is it just a facilitator for creating content? Drawing up lengthy technical specifications may help, but throw a client-who-uses-misunderstood-buzzwords into the mix and you’re in for a bumpy ride. Chances are you’ll both assume different functionality. Continue reading Missapplication of Terminology…

Alexking.org - Cool Wordpress Plugins

Posted by James - 27/08/07 at 10:08:06 am

If you’re sitting around, wondering what would make your Wordpress just that little bit more awesome, be sure to check out the Wordpress Plugins section of alexking.org.  What can I say?  The plugins are all geared towards adding that little extra bit of style and usability to your site.  I’m going to be incorporating them into Psyked over the next week or so - so I’d certainly reccomend them!

Flash Player - set to include HD Video

Posted by James - 23/08/07 at 10:08:08 pm

Adobe has recently released the Beta of its’ next major update to the Flash Player - on Abobe Labs - and this time with HD Video support. (Amongst other general improvements) From a few other reports I’ve come across, the final version is expected in a couple of months, and of course other Flash-based products like Adobe Air will also benefit from the same technology.

Continue reading Flash Player - set to include HD Video…

404 pages - Welcome Smashing Magaziners!

Posted by James - 19/08/07 at 09:08:16 pm

Right up-top there in the usability stakes is the fact that you should always give your visitors what they want.  That’s tough, especially when the page they end up with is “Error 404″.  I’m not going to go off on a rant about what you can do, but what I do is thanks to a few neat Wordpress Plugins.Basically, the 404’s you’ll see on Psyked contain a few elements - A search box, related links, top categories and top posts.

Search box, that’s easy, it’s inbuilt into most themes.  Top categories and posts are thanks to the plugins “Most popular categories by posts“and “WP-PostViews“.  Related links is an impressive plugin, “Related Posts” - there’s a version specifically for 404 pages.

Have a look at the result…

ActionScript 3.0 lets you work with ZIP files?

Posted by James - 09/08/07 at 02:08:03 pm

From côdeazur:

FZip

FZip is an Actionscript 3 class library to load standard
ZIP archives and extract/decompress contained files.

FZip parses ZIP archives progressively, allowing access
to contained files while the archive is loading.

http://codeazur.com.br/lab/fzip/

The potential for this is impressive, and they’ve already implimented it in ways I wouldn’t've thought possible - an automatic .air file update checker. I’m not even sure there is a file format left that the ActionScript 3 trio can’t manipulate…

Sandbox Design competition (results tomorrow)

Posted by James - 05/08/07 at 11:08:09 pm

Ok, so I didn’t get my ass into gear and enter the competition - but others did, and their designs are now available to view online. The results are announced tomorrow (being Monday) Check out the competition website.

I’ve had a mosey through the designs, and these are my favourates… Continue reading Sandbox Design competition (results tomorrow)…

on Deziner Folio…

Posted by James - 05/08/07 at 10:08:09 pm

I’ve been a bit slack on the External links side of things recently - but Deziner Folio really deserves a mention. It’s run by two guys - Navdeep and Navin. Deziner Folio is slick, with a nice design, spiffy transitions and, well, generally good ideas with the interface, there’s also a host of resources that they make available for download / demonstration - such as ‘Web 2.0′ Photoshop layer styles and various Image Gallery scripts.